It has been announced that Drew Brees will stay in New Orleans for the next two seasons and make $50 million in that time. Drew Brees is arguably the best player in the history of the New Orleans Saints and seeing how close they were last season, it only makes sense that he is back next season. He still has all of his weapons, including that two headed monster in the backfield with Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn, and Willie Snead are all good options for Brees, and it has to be enticing for him to continue playing. The Saints also have a pretty good defense that should only get better with more experience in playing together.

Now that they have Brees, the Saints can also look for his successor to sit and learn behind Brees. There are rumors that they are very interested in Baker Mayfield and considering that he is similar to Brees that would make sense for him to sit for two years and learn from one of the greatest to ever do it. It will also help because the biggest concern about Mayfield has been his height, much like Brees early in his career. The Saints will likely have to trade a lot to go up and get Mayfield, but the idea of someone taking the reigns from Brees in two years and keeping this franchise relevant might be too good to pass up.

New Orleans is the only place that Drew Brees should have gone. There were murmurs of Minnesota being interested, but since Brees came to New Orleans after the 2005 season, he has been the face of not only the franchise, but the city as well. He was there on September 25, 2006, when the Saints had there first game back in the Superdome when they won against the Atlanta Falcons 23 – 3, and brought life to a city that had been suffering. They would end up in the NFC Championship game for the first time in the history of this franchise and although they didn’t make or win the Super Bowl, there was hope for a tortured franchise. Three years later, in 2009, the Saints were able to win the Super Bowl against the Colts 31 – 17 and make Drew Brees into a future Hall of Famer. Drew Brees needs to finish his career as a Saint and his new contract should ensure that.

The Chiefs got an under the radar free agent in Anthony Hitchens. Hitchens was often overlooked because of how good Sean Lee is and what a great story Jaylon Smith is, but make no mistake about it, Hitchens is a really good linebacker. With the Chiefs cutting ties with longtime veterans Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali it only makes sense to replace him with a guy like Hitchens.

Anthony Hitchens was able to play in all three linebacker spots in Dallas’ 4-3 defense and should be able to thrive as an inside linebacker in Kansas City’s 3-4. His numbers weren’t staggering for someone that is getting as much money as Hitchens is from the Chiefs, but it was noticeable when either he or Sean Lee missed sometime. Last season was the only one that he has missed games in his career and has been able to play through nagging injuries.

​The Chiefs don’t have their first round selection and only have five total draft picks so it makes sense to be busy in free agency to add young talent. This isn’t the only hole that the Chiefs need to fill, but at only 25 years old, Anthony Hitchens is just entering his prime and should be able to give the Chiefs a boost. It will be interesting to see what else the Chiefs are considering the Watkins and Hitchens contracts are going to take up a lot of their remaining cap space and they don’t have very many draft picks. If they want to make any other moves, the Chiefs will have to get creative.

Sammy Watkins was once thought of as a future top wide receiver in the NFL and is now onto his third destination. He has been rather productive when healthy, but he hasn’t been the healthiest receiver in the league since coming into the league in 2014. His three year deal worth $30 million in guarantees is a little bit of a surprise, but playing for someone like Andy Reid should help him get to a number one receiver status.

The Chiefs were regarded as the best team in the NFL through the first five weeks of the season last year, but seemed to fall off a bit towards the end of the season. The switch at quarterback and the addition of Sammy Watkins could have them contending again this season. Being able to play on the opposite side of Tyreek Hill, Watkins should be able to see some single coverages and have the ability to make plays. These two with running back, Kareem Hunt, gives second year quarterback, Patrick Mahomes a good array of weapons to use as he enters his first season as the starter in Kansas City. It is almost reminiscent of when Andy Reid was in Philadelphia with DeSean Jackson as a burner, Jeremy Maclin as a traditional number one, LeSean McCoy as a top running back and Donavan McNabb/Michael Vick as dual threat quarterbacks that could make plays.

The Chiefs still need to figure out a way to improve their defense after they cut ties Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson, despite signing Anthony Hitchens. Despite their defense, this team should be really fun to watch in the 2017 season. If Watkins is able to break out in any system, it will be in Kansas City under Andy Reid as he doesn’t need to be the main target in Kansas City.

​Allen Robinson was the top wide receiver target of the offseason and will now sign with the Chicago Bears. Robinson gets a good contract coming off of a knee injury and needed to go somewhere that he can be a true number one receiver. The Bears need someone for Mitchell Trubisky to throw the ball to as he continues to grow into an NFL quarterback.

Allen Robinson is used to playing with young quarterbacks as he has been playing with Blake Bortles for the last four years and should get the most out of Trubisky. Robinson is coming off of a torn ACL, but less talented players have comeback from worse and he should be able to bounce back rather quickly. Robinson has averaged just under five catches a game with an average of 66 yards a game. This includes the atrocious 2016 season when Jacksonville’s offense struggled entirely under then head coach, Gus Bradley. Missing the 2017 season certainly hurt his numbers as Doug Marrone turned the Jags around last season, but Robinson should have a good bounce back year in 2018.

Coming from a system that knows how to use their offensive players, Matt Nagy will get the most out of Trubisky, especially with a player like Robinson. He made Alex Smith look like the guy that was drafted with the first overall pick in 2005 and had the Chiefs offense thriving for the first half of the 2017 season. They dropped off a little bit towards the end, but the fact that Nagy is young and has had success in the NFL should make their offense more fun to watch than when the Bears were last season under Jon Fox.

The Bears can now look more into cornerbacks in the NFL draft because they have checked off their number one receiver box. This won’t stop them from drafting another receiver on day two as it is a deep position and they could still use receiving help, but it doesn’t mean that they have to take one with the eighth overall pick in this draft. With Robinson, Trubisky and Jordan Howard, the Bears’ offense should be fun to watch in the coming years. The Bears still aren’t contenders in the NFC North with this move, but it is a move in the right direction and if they have good drafts in 2018 and 2019, the Bears could be a force in the coming years.

Case Keenum has made his intentions known that he will be playing in Denver and it just makes sense for everyone involved. Case Keenum has a home, Minnesota can move on and the Broncos have a viable option for the first time since Peyton Manning retired two years ago.

Case Keenum finally came into his own last season. After years of going back and forth between the Texans and the Rams, Keenum finally went somewhere that worked for him in Minnesota. The Denver coaching staff has to realize what made Keenum great with the Vikings and try to give him the best situation to succeed. If they don’t, John Elway isn’t afraid to make a move that will improve his franchise. Vance Joseph was rumored to be on the hot seat this season and if he can’t get a winning season this year, it is hard to imagine a scenario in which he is in Denver after this season. Elway wants to win and if he doesn’t he will change the situation.

The Vikings didn’t seem to keen on resigning Keenum so it isn’t like he scorned that fan base, they just want to go in a different direction. They will most likely have to trade up in the first round or sign the top free agent this offseason, Kirk Cousins. There have been rumors that Minnesota is the preferred destination of Cousins and if they are willing to give him what he wants, it only makes sense that he ends up there. If he chooses someone else, that means the Vikings will likely have to trade up to select one of the young quarterbacks in the draft. There are pretty much four quarterback needy teams selecting before the Vikings and Cousins goes to one of them, that makes three. There are essentially five top quarterbacks, Darnold, Rosen, Allen, Mayfield and Jackson, depending on how teams feel about all of them and if there is someone specific that the Vikings want, they will have to get at least above 15 when the Cardinals pick. Either option is intriguing for the Vikings from an outsider’s perspective or it should be fun to watch.

​The Broncos most recent success was two years ago when they won the Super Bowl with an aging Peyton Manning. Since then, they have tried Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, and brought back Brock Osweiler to try to get back to the post season, but have failed both years and seemed to be trending down. Denver still has one of the best defenses in the NFL, a good receiving corps and decent running backs. They still need offensive line help and maybe the fact that they don’t need to take a quarterback means that they can take someone like Quenton Nelson, someone compared to Zack Martin, and bolster their offensive line. They can also improve their receiving corps and running back room though the draft as this draft is fairly deep with both and they could conceivably take one of each on the second day of the draft.

​This move has so many ripple effects in the NFL and is the start of what could be a crazy free agency and draft period. Keenum to Denver makes a lot of sense and it will be interesting to see if they will be able to compete in the AFC with their most important position locked up for them.